8S0 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



August 23, 1906. 



J. a Heist. 



- (President of the Dayton Florists' Club.) 



lowed by us is to have the flowers re- 

 ceived fresh every morning, tjien prop- 

 erly assorted and arranged in large stor- 

 age rooms, Avhere mirrors on all sides 

 show them off to the best advantage. 



One of the most important items is 

 booking orders. In a great many es- 

 tablishments the old way of taking or- 

 ders for any kind of flowers for com- 

 mencements and debutantes' receptions, 

 etc., knowing it is a question wnetber 

 they can be secured, then substituting an- 

 other kind at the last minute, is an 

 expensive one. What a great disappoint- 

 ment to a mother, thinking she has a 

 pleasant surprise for her daughter at the 

 graduating exercises, or some other func- 

 tion, ordering a bunch of pink roses, and 

 then receiving red carnations instead! 

 Her patronage^ is lost; she has no more 

 confidence in that establishment. 



Employees. 



We have an ,up-to-date corps of clerks 

 and employees |^ho are able, capable and 

 willing to wait on customers intelligently, 

 and do not try to sell them a pink rose 

 for a white one, or calla lilies for lilies 

 of the valley. They do not work any 

 more like they used to. They used to 

 get up at 5 'clock in the morning and 

 work until 10 or 11 o'clock at night for 

 a very small compensation. It is fortu- 

 nate that things are not as they used to 

 be in this case. Employees in a retail 

 florist's store should come in for full 

 consideration and just treatment, because 

 it is impossible for any one man to wait 

 on every customer that comes to inquire 

 about flowers. There are naturally in 

 the retail florist's trade, as in all other 

 kinds of business, people with all sorts 



of ideas, in many cases hard to please. 

 All of these should be studied and their 

 peculiar fancies catered to, as much as 

 possible, if they are willing to pay the 

 price, because a satisfied customer is the 

 best possible advertisement that any one 

 can have. Right here, the employee who 

 goes to extra trouble to cater to the 

 whims of this particular class of cus- 

 tomers, and does not run or hide when 

 he or she comes in, is entitled to a great 

 deal of consideration which he often does 

 not receive. I have found invariably 

 that by studying the clerks' interests, 

 they are in much better position to study 

 the employer's interests, for it is only 

 too true that florists work longer hours 

 for less money than almost any other 

 class of working men, requiring an equal 

 amount of intelligence. The clerks and 

 employees in a retail florist's store can 

 do much toward increasing or decreasing 

 the sales and profits by strict attention 

 or inattention to details in the business. 

 It has always been our aim to keep the 

 employees satisfied, and where we succeed 

 in doing that, they invariably succeed in 

 satisfying us. 



Puttioe Up Orders. 



This, in our estimation, is one of the 

 most important items connected with the 

 retail florist 's business. As time cuts 

 quite a figure in this part of the busi- 

 ness, if the flowers are put up too early 

 they will be apt to wither, and if too 

 late they cannot be delivered in time; 

 hence, this branch of the business re- 

 quires constant care and exercise of 

 judgment, in order that the flowers may 

 reach the parties interested in the best 

 possible condition. Another very impor- 



tant item is to send the customers ex- 

 actly the quality and quautity promised 

 for a given amount of money, and not 

 try to slight them with the thought or 

 idea that they will never know the dif- 

 ference. This might do once in a while, 

 but one is bound to be caught in the 

 act some time, and with a very ugly re- 

 flection on the integrity of the house. 

 Here it may be well to state that the 

 poUteness and intelligence of the driver 

 or messenger who may happen to deliver 

 the flowers will either reflect credit or 

 discredit upon the establishment. 



Window Dismay. 



The old methods of trying to show the 

 public how many plants a florist could 

 put in a window was buried with the 

 paper collar for bouquets. The window 

 bottom of sand, gravel and zinc has 

 given place to tile and mirror effects. 

 A florist's window is the same now as 

 that of the other up-to-date merchant 

 who displays his finest goods to tempt 

 the public to buy. A customer can 

 form a pretty good idea of the florist's 

 ability to create and execute artistic ef- 

 fects by' his window display. For in- 

 stance, when we have a surplus of any 

 particular kind of flower, a window taste- 

 fully arranged with vases, baskets, etc., 

 of this same flower has time and again 

 been the means of cleaning up the entire 

 surplus at a good profit. 



A window display on January 29, 

 President McKinley's birthday, with, a 

 portrait of him, a few American flags 

 and a nice assortment of carnations 

 tastefully arranged, will demonstrate 

 what a window decoration can do. I 

 should advise you to try it January 29 

 next. 



Use of Accessories. 



The use of ribbons in .the retail flo- 

 rist 's business has grown faster than the 

 business itself, because with the present 

 methods ribbons can be used to great 

 advantage on nearly all arrangements of 

 flowers, and when properly used are a 

 great acquisition to any up-to-date floral 

 arrangement. 



In our city in particular there is a 

 large demand for bunches of flowers at 

 all seasons of the year, to be sent to the 

 various oflSces or departments of the 

 local, municipal and United States gov- 

 ernments. In these cases it is often nec- 

 essary to have a suitable vase or jardi- 

 niere to offer, to go with the bunch of 

 flowers, that they may be delivered in 

 good presentable condition, and their 

 lasting qualities preserved by the stems 

 being kept in water while in the office 

 of the recipient. 



In conclusion, to manage and run an 

 up-to-date flower store: 



First, it is necessary to be conserva- 

 tive in buying. When I say buying, I 

 mean not only cut flower stock, but 

 plants, ribbons, jardinieres, florists' 

 supplies of all kinds, and especially 

 boxes and paper to suit all sizes of 

 bunches and qualities of flowers. This 

 is very important. 



Second; having the necessary recepta- 

 cles and supplies to go with the flowers, 

 be sure to have good, fresh stock at 

 all times to show your customers, and 

 give them what you claim to sell. 



Third; after the first two points are 

 looked after, be sure to deliver the flow- 

 ers as promised, on time, when prom- 

 ised, and in good condition. 



Colorado Springs, Colo. — J. B. 

 Braidwood is now located in Denver. 



